Fight Harder
by bemcgee
Summary: "I don't believe you, Baby! I don't think that you ever had any intention of telling him. Ever." What happened when Johnny went to see Penny after he and Baby almost got caught by her father? What did he say to her, how did he explain what happened? One-shot.


**Hello, all. This little one-shot is my first fan fiction. Well, the first I actually finish. I just had to get this idea out of my head. It's been rolling around in there for weeks and no one has written a story about this. I borrowed a few lines from the film, which are italicized. I also tried to characterize Johnny as best I could, but it was difficult because we don't know much about him. This seems almost OOC to me, but at this point he **_**is**_** changing, so maybe it works. I hope you enjoy!**

"_Fight harder, huh? I don't see you fighting so hard, Baby. I don't see you running up to Daddy telling him I'm your guy."_

"_Well, with my father, it's complicated. I _will_ tell him. I-"_

"_I don't believe you, Baby! I don't think that you ever had any intention of telling him. Ever."_

I left her there, just watching me walk away, and I didn't look back.

I might be wild about her, but she drives me crazy. I know I'll never be good enough for Jake Houseman's little girl, but that doesn't mean I can't try, right? I've never felt this way about anyone before. She's actually important to me, not like those other women.

Frances Houseman is the most beautiful, determined, inspiring…frustrating woman I've ever met. I know she's young, just 17, but she's never been a girl to me. From the moment she stepped up to help Penny, I knew she was mature for her age. I've never known anyone like her. She is so dedicated, she sees something she wants and she goes for it. She sees someone in trouble and she does everything in her power to help them.

So why isn't she fighting her father on the issue of us? She fights for everything else, and she tells me to fight for myself, but when it comes to telling her father about our relationship, she hides.

I don't know what to do, where to go, and before I even realize where my feet are taking me, I'm knocking on the door of Penny's cabin.

I should have listened to her. I should have ended it. I don't think I would have been able to, even if I had made up my mind to do it. Baby has become my weakness, and she may be my downfall one day. I'm just drawn to her. My feelings are too strong for me to stay away. Walking away from her was the hardest thing I've done in a long time.

Penny answers the door and looks surprised to see me.

"Johnny. I wasn't expecting you. Is everything okay?"

I walk in and sit at the foot of her bed, trying to gather my thoughts, while she closes the door and turns to look at me.

"Penny, I'm so confused. I know you told me to end it, to follow the same advice I've been giving you all this time, and you were probably right. But I don't think I can. I don't think I'm strong enough to leave her."

"Johnny, what's happened? I've never seen you like this."

"We had a…it wasn't a fight. A disagreement, I guess. She told me to fight harder, make Neil listen to me, and I asked why she's not fighting for us. I want her to tell her father, and she's contradicting herself by not listening to her own advice."

"Like you did, when you got involved with her?"

"I know, Penny. I know. But this is different, it _feels_ different. You know me, Penny. I never let my heart get involved. But this time…I can't leave my heart out of this one. I want to fight for this, for us. I want her father to know the truth, and to have his blessing, even if he doesn't exactly approve of me. I know he doesn't like me, but I can't stand keeping this from him."

"Johnny, what are you – are you saying what I think you're saying?"

I've been trying to figure this out for a while. Like I said, I've never felt like this about anyone before. I 'm not exactly sure what I'm feeling, but I _think_ I know. I work up the courage to tell Penny something I've never said about anyone before.

"Penny…I think I love her."

There's a knock at the door, as Penny begins to look confused. She answers, barely opening the door. I can't see who stands on the other side.

"_Hi. Have you seen Johnny?"_

At the mention of my name, I recognize the voice and my head pops up, just as Penny widens the door to show Baby that I'm sitting there, looking at her.

I stand up and walk out. Without saying a word, I walk to the railing and cross my arms with my back to her. I can feel her behind me, before she even touches me. Then she puts a hand on my shoulder, whispers "I'm sorry" and kisses my shoulder. I don't have time to react before we hear another voice, an unpleasant one.

"_Well, it looks like I picked the wrong sister. Don't worry, Baby, I went slumming too."_

Robbie Gould, that sleaze ball. He barely finishes his sentence before I jump over the railing and pounce on him. I hear one of the girls scream my name, but I've already slammed his back into the porch railing and thrown him to the ground, after giving him a knee to the stomach. We each get a couple swings in, nothing too serious. I pull him off me and, as he stands a couple feet away, I challenge him.

"_Come on, hit me. Hit me!"_

He swings and I turn away from his fist. I pin him down, holding a tuft of his shirt near his throat. I bring my arm back to finish this fight, when I remember Baby. She's standing there, watching me, watching this. "Fight harder" rings in my ears, and I realize I'm fighting the wrong person, for the wrong reasons.

I release Robbie's shirt and shove him away from me.

"_Get outta here. You're not worth it! You're not worth it."_

As Robbie walks away and the crowd disperses, I turn to see Baby standing at the railing, right where I left her. Penny looks at me for a couple seconds before turning to walk inside and close the door, all without a word.

I return to the railing and stand in front of Baby. I put my hands on the painted wood first and look into her eyes, then wrap my arms around her waist. I bury my face into her stomach and her shirt as she wraps her arms around my neck.

While I inhale her scent and she runs her hands through my hair, I realize that I never want to leave her. We haven't said anything, other than her short apology. She hasn't said she's going to tell her father. We don't even know what's going to happen after the final show. For right now, this moment, we don't need to know any of that. We don't need to talk.

I just fought Robbie Gould over my relationship with Frances Houseman. Who have I become? She's changing me, for the better. I fought one man, I'll fight any others. I'm going to fight harder than I've ever fought for anything before. I'm going to fight harder, for her.

**Well that's it! I hope you enjoyed it. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, but I'm not a writer, by any means. Thankfully, I'm going to be a psychologist, something I actually stand a chance at being successful at. Haha. Feel free to send me your thoughts or comments in a review. This is a one-shot, so I don't plan to continue, but I would still love to know what everyone thinks of it! :)**


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